On February 27th, 2025, city council passed a motion to rezone and subdivide the west parking lot of the city-owned 1913 Granite Curling Club at 22 Granite Way. This vote makes way for the planned construction of an 111-unit residential building. All councilors except Russ Wyatt and Jason Schreyer voted in favour of the motion. The Granite Curling Club remains concerned that the loss of parking space will negatively impact the non-profit club’s sustainability. Heritage Winnipeg hopes that further dialogue with the city and club will help find a mutually beneficial solution, allowing for the construction of much-needed affordable housing while ensuring the future viability of the historic building.

The Granite Curling Club property is currently owned by the City of Winnipeg, which reneged on its promise to sell it to the non-profit club occupying it. At the end of January 2025, notices were placed outside the building announcing the City of Winnipeg’s intention to redevelop most of the property’s west parking lot into an 11 storey mixed-income housing project. The west parking lot would be reduced from about 70 spaces to 15. The smaller east parking lot would not be impacted. Club members were not a party to the city’s plans for redevelopment, and voiced concerns that the club could lose hundreds of members if on site parking was no longer available, along with no longer being able to host large events. The club also noted the ability of its members to use other forms of transportation beyond a personal vehicle was limited due to many having mobility issues. Alternatively, some members felt strongly that a housing project serving the needs of the local community should be approved, not quashed by the needs of commuters. There were also concerns raised as to why the city had not tendered the project but instead approached a single developer.

Heritage Winnipeg submitted a letter to the February 6th, 2025 meeting of the city’s Standing Policy Committee on Property and Development asking to delay the final decision-making on the proposed housing development. We hoped key considerations could be discussed and assurances be made to the club regarding financial sustainability before the city approved the plans. Heritage buildings need to be occupied and serve their community for successful long-term conservation and financial stability. The committee was unable to come to a resolution on the matter with a tied vote. On February 18th, 2025, city council’s executive policy committee voted unanimously to approve the parking lot subdivision and rezoning, with the stipulation that the city will work with the club on a parking plan. The club is skeptical that the new requirement will meaningfully resolve their concerns as the plan needs to only be approved by the Director of Public Works and the Director of Planning, Property and Development; not the club. The amended plan was approved by city council on February 27th, 2025.

The redevelopment plan for the Granite Curling Club property’s west parking lot is a collaboration between the City of Winnipeg and the University of Winnipeg Community Renewal Corporation 2.0. It intends to create a residential building containing 55 units with rent at market rate, 26 units at various rent levels below the median market rate and 30 units with rent rates geared to income. Funding would come from the Government of Canada’s Housing Accelerator Fund, supporting the construction of over 3,000 expedited housing units in Winnipeg within three years through an agreement with the city. The project would be similar to West Broadway Commons at 167 Colony Street, a joint project between the All Saints Anglican Church and the University of Winnipeg Community Renewal Corporation 2.0. Opening at the end of 2020, West Broadway Commons is a 12 storey mixed use building with 110 units geared towards a variety of income levels. Designed to exist in harmony with the historic 1926 church it sits adjacent to, the accessible and environmentally conscientious project was funded through the National Housing Co-Investment Fund.

Called the “mother club,” the Granite Curling Club was established in Winnipeg in 1880 with its first games played under a tent the next year. The club moved several times before building its own indoor rink in 1892, but continued growth necessitated a larger facility. The current property along the north shore of the Assiniboine River was acquired in 1911 with the building opening to curlers in the fall of 1913. Designed by prominent architect James Chisholm, a club executive, the luxurious three storey Tudor inspired clubhouse and nine sheets of ice, complete with four crenellated square towers, cost $140,000 to construct. In 1953 it became the first club in Winnipeg with artificial ice and a major addition was built in 1959. The club fell on hard times and was forced to sell the property to the City of Winnipeg in 1975 with a lease back agreement. Most of the clubhouse, particularly the exterior and main entrance featuring a wrought iron arch inscribed with “Granite Curling Club” suspended between two portly pillars, remains unchanged over time. The building was added to the City of Winnipeg’s List of Historical Resources in 1986, protecting it from demolition or alteration of its character defining elements.

Featured image: Granite Curling Club at 1 Granite Way (cropped) in September 2013 from Samyaka.verma (CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons)